OHIO — Ohio has a lot of work to do to help kids catch up in math and reading post pandemic. 

Tanisha Pruitt, Youth Opportunity and Education Researcher with Policy Matters Ohio said the data is troubling, especially since Ohio is already facing challenges.

“Workforce participation has decreased since 2007," Pruitt said. "Additionally, wages for low and middle-income earners are steadily decreasing.”

Pruitt noted that when families are struggling to make ends meet, there is a trickle down effect on children. Not only are they likely to experience housing insecurity and instability, but food insecurity may be a problem as well.

“One in six children in Ohio are currently living in a food insecure household, which is having a deep impact on their cognitive development," she said.

When kids go hungry in school and or there is a delay in development, she said it’s hard for them to focus.

“Students who experience food insecurity are also more likely to experience chronic illnesses, which impacts their ability to attend school regularly, which also impacts their academic achievement," she said. "And they also experience more stress.”

All of these things, which are known as adverse childhood experiences (ACES) she notes, have a great impact on their academic achievement. That includes graduating from high school. 

While the state has made an improvement in a number of areas, especially when it comes to boosting literacy, Pruitt indicated that the same emphasis should be put on equipping students with math skills.

“We need to be doing more investing in early childhood," she said. "We need to fund universal pre-K in Ohio.”

The Annie E. Casey Foundation said based on this latest data, decades of learning loss have opened the door for $900 billion in lost income in the future and unemployment among high school graduates. This, as generations of pandemic era, students aren’t ready to take on jobs requiring the math and reading skills needed to be successful.